the bad cartoonist

Except on a purely animalistic “me like! me dislike!” level, it has been my experience that readers don’t really give a shit one way or another about the techniques employed by political cartoonists. Hence, constructive criticism of editorial cartoons is not seen much on the tubes, and on the rare occasions it can be found, it is damn refreshing.

That’s why I’ve added The Bad Cartoonist to the humble blogroll to the right. The anonymous cartoonist (I assume that’s what he is, judging from – among other things – his apparent firsthand knowledge of Daryl Cagle’s business practices) has unkind words for most of the establishment. He is particularly harsh regarding the laziness and predictability of modern editorial cartoons, calling out Newsweek darling Jeff Stahler for an overreliance on the “man and woman on couch reading newspaper” motif. But the author also serves up thoughtful critiques of the garish Photoshop coloring (to which I have admittedly subjected you as well) that characterizes the work of Scott Stantis and Jeff Koterba. Even though I have probably sinned just as much, if not more, than people who Do Cartoons For A Living, it’s reassuring to read that somebody out there is actually thinking about this stuff besides the artists themselves (if the latter does at all).

It’ll be interesting to find out who this guy is. His spelling and word placement suggest he lives somewhere in the Commonwealth (Canada?) Judging from his steadily increasing profile, it shouldn’t take long to figure it out.